Belgium Trip Updates!
Saturday, April 4th
We assembled at Eppely Airfield at an early 5:00a.m. We all knew we had a long day of travel ahead of us but that didn’t stop the members of our team from being excited and enthusiastic about the journey ahead. After stops in Houston and New York we embarked on our 8 hour overnight flight to Barcelona, Spain!
Sunday, April 5th
We arrived in Barcelona at approximately 9:15a.m. local time. Everyone seemed a little groggy and sleep deprived but those feeling of exhaustion were quickly replaced by feelings of excitement about what the day held for us. At 65 degrees and sunny we had picture perfect weather for our first day in Spain!
We loaded our two tour buses, met our local guides, and set off to explore some of the incredible sights Barcelona has to offer. After a brief stop at the Casa Mila, a beautiful building designed by renowned Spanish architect Antonti Gaudie, we traveled to Monjuic,an amazing beautiful park set high on a hill that overlooks both the city and the harbor. We were all delighted to see Barcelona’s nearby Olympic Village which reminded us of the importance and significance of our own upcoming competition.
After a quick lunch we once again boarded our buses and then traveled a scenic 30 minute drive to the coastal town of Sitges, Spain. Sitges is known as the “Golden Beach of the Mediterranean” and upon arrival it was easy for us to see why! What a beautiful seaside city! We were delighted to find that our hotel was located right on the palm tree lined ocean front. After checking in we had only about an hour to prepare for one of the most meaningful and exciting parts of our trip, our performance and cultural exchange with a group of Spanish baton twirlers. We walked down the ocean front to a local square that was overlooked by historic church and bell tower. A large crowd gathered as we practiced for our performance. The Spanish twirlers arrived and right away I jumped in to trying to communicate with them, learn their names, exchange twirling ideas… Spanish that I thought I had long since forgot began to fly out of my mouth! The Spanish team performed first and it was very interesting to see the similarities and differences in our dance and twirling styles. We performed second and the Spanish team as well as the large group of local residents were a very gracious audience. After the performance we had more time to visit with the Spanish twirlers and, with the help of our translator, we were able to learn so much from each other! This may have been one of the longest days any of us could remember but as the sun set over the Mediterranean, we could not help but feel so fortunate for being able to take part in the day’s experiences.
Sharing tricks with eachother
Group photo of Stepper-ettes and Spanish twirlers in Sitges, Spain
Monday, April 6th
We stared our morning with a quick practice in the same square in Sitges where we performed last night. It was a unique practice location to say the least! There we were practicing under the shadow of a beautiful Spanish church with the Mediterranean Sea just steps away!
After practice we boarded our buses and returned to Barcelona for another tour. Our first stop was the Sagrada Familia, a breathtaking church in the city center that was started in the late 1800’s and is projected to be finished in 2026! We then visited Barcelona’s shopping district which was of course a very popular stop for all the girls.
After our Barcelona tour we returned to Sitges for a team dinner at a restaurant called Pic Nic. It was a fantastic dinner served in many different courses. Perhaps the best part was the cake served at the end that was made especially for us. It read “Good Luck Stepper-ettes”!
Tomorrow we have an early practice and then off to Belgium! We can’t wait to travel to Ghent to meet the rest of the members of Team USA!!
Practing under the church tower in Sitges with the beach only steps away!
Tuesday, April 7
This morning we traveled to a local gymnasium for practice. We felt very fortunate to have a full sized gym available for us to rehearse in.
Immediately after our rehearsal we boarded our buses and drove to Barcelona’s airport where boarded our flight to Brussels, Belgium. We were a bit sad to say goodbye to beautiful Sitges but also very excited to get to the World competition site. After a short flight we arrived at the Brussels International Airport. We then traveled to our hotel in Ghent which houses both our team and the Canadian team. Our hotel is located directly in the middle of Ghent’s historic city center. This breathtaking part of the city was built in the late 13th century! It was up to all of the individual families on our trip to choose their own dinner location. At the end of the night, many of the girls came back to the hotel with interesting stories about the places they ate! All of us are now going to bed early because tomorrow is a very big day! We have our music test and the opening ceremonies. At tomorrow’s music test we will have the opportunity to see our competitors and meet the rest of Team USA!
Outside our hotel in Ghent, Belgium
13th century bell tower right around the corner from our hotel in Ghent.
Wednesday, April 8
Today was a very important day for us. This morning we arrived at the arena where the competition is taking place. Team USA only had one hour to complete our music test so each team and individual twirler had approximately 2 minutes to practice their routine with their music on the official twirling floor. Fortunately our music test went very well. We got a very positive reaction from our USA teammates, coaches, and other spectators.
Tonight we took part in the Opening Ceremony. Walking on to the competition floor with the rest of the American twirlers, our American flags waving wildly, was absolutely thrilling! Team USA is by far the largest delegation and we received a warm reception from the international crowd. It was also really fun to meet twirlers from different countries both before and after the ceremony.
Tomorrow we are off to Brugge!
Team USA at the Opening Ceremonies
Rachel at the Opening Ceremonies
At the arena waiting for our turn to march onto the competition floor during the Opening Ceremonies!
Thursday, April 9th
Today we enjoyed a day trip to Brugges. Brugges is an amazingly beautiful city with great shopping as well! When we attended the World Championships in Holland three years ago we had the opportunity to visit Brugges so many of us were very excited to return! It was a little rainy but that didn’t “dampen” our spirits! Many of us had the chance to sample the world famous Belgian waffle and purchase Belgian chocolates. With Easter coming up this Sunday, many of the chocolate shop windows showcased their best chocolate creations with Easter themes. Some of them were incredible! Imagine a life-sized chocolate swan busting out of a chocolate egg! After our trip to Brugges, we returned to Ghent and enjoyed a free evening.
Friday, April 10
This morning we had a very intense three hour practice. Mike Nakauchi from California joined us lend his coaching expertise. After practice some of us went to the sports arena to cheer on our fellow American athletes. This evening we performed in the central square in Ghent’s historic city center. What an amazing performance! The weather was picture perfect and a large crowd gathered to watch us. There we were performing directly between two enormous 14th century bell towers, the sun shining, and a crowd of friendly Belgians watching us. It was one of the most special and unique performances we have ever participated in! Now many of us are getting ready to attend a Good Friday church service at St. Bavo’s Church. Building on the church began in the 1200’s! That should be a very interesting experience.
Posing with our good luck sign from the Stepper-ettes back home in front of St. Bavo
Performance in Ghent
Julie wows the crowd with her 3-baton skills at our performance in Ghent.
Tami, Cara, and Tina in front of the Count's Castle
Saturday, April 11
We started the day with another intense 3 hour practice. After practice most of our group boarded the bus and traveled to Brussels for a tour of the city. Stops were made at the historic city center and we took a tour of a chocolate factory! After the excursion to Brussels we had a USA Team dinner held at a local convention center in Ghent. It was great to have the opportunity to visit with Team USA members from across the country! After the dinner we all went to bed early so that we could be prepared for our competition in the morning!
Sunday, April 12
This is it! The day we have been waiting for! The team assembled in the lobby at 9:00a.m. to get our hair and make-up done. All of us sprayed our hair black so that we all looked alike on the competition floor. After we finished our hair and make-up we boarded the buses to the convention center. I noticed that all of the girls were very silent as we traveled to the competition site. Most of them were listening to our music on their ipods and visualizing our routine.
After we arrived at the competition site we practiced very hard in the practice gym and waited for our event to begin. At last the first county in our division took the competition floor. Before long it was our time to compete! We had to clear a passport check and then finally we were able to enter the competition arena. Our event was the last of the entire competition week and so every member of Team USA was there. The chants of “USA, USA” echoed in our ears as we marched on to the floor.
Our music began and we started our routine with confidence. Unfortunately, less than 30 seconds into the routine the music stopped! There was some sort of technical difficulty. We were able to start our routine over and when we did the rest of our countrymen cheered even louder! Our routine went off wonderfully and we were thrilled when we exited the floor.
The closing ceremonies began right after our event was over and that was great because we didn’t have to wait long to find out the results. All of Team USA marched out onto the arena floor along with the other 16 countries in attendance. When it was time for our event to be announced, all of us huddled together and held hands. This was it…This is what we have been working for for so long. We were nervous. We had heard that the Dutch team had done a great job. Still we were happy with our performance and would be grateful for any place on the podium. Finally the announcer announced ” In third place…France, in second place…Holland, and in first place USA!!” All of us started jumping up and down and many cried tears of joy. As the United States national anthem echoed loudly throughout the arena we couldn’t help but feel tremendous pride. What a moment! It was one of those times you wish you could bottle up and keep with you for the rest of your life. We did it…we won the gold!!
We were all very focused the morning of the competition
Here we go!
We did it!
World Champions!